What have the artists said about the song?

Nas: I just felt like all the shit I saw in Queensbridge, it meant something. For some reason, I knew this ain’t the average shit a kid my age is supposed to be seeing. I knew it was something special about what I was seeing, and it wasn’t all good. This was real life. It’s situations—whether it’s welfare, or my friends’ havin’ dope-fiend parents, or teenagers being chased by cops.

Still Ill In spring 1994, a chip-tooth kid outta Queensbridge released a 10-song debut album that set a new standard for hip-hop lyricism. Fifteen years later, XXL takes a trip down memory lane to get an in-depth look at the making of a classic. It's Illmatic. Yeah.